Thread: Help needed on Wood Turning Chisels

Originally Posted by Ticky

Hey Paul,
What a great & informative post, thank you.

I have a 8" grinder, & a linishing belt, belt sander etc. I also have a Scheppach which is a copy of the Tormek, even takes the tormek accessories.

I am a Boilermaker by trade, Cabinet maker by hobbie & soon to be a turner, so I have a fair range of tools. I have given some consideration to tool sharpening but not a lot at this stage, having not yet started my lathe up.

I think Tormek do a wheel for gouges & I'm betting a jig as well, so that might come in handy, but I might have to get some new wheels for my grinder as well.

This is starting to become an expensive hobby, I hope I can muster some skills after my outlay.

Steve

You are in good shape for sharpening. I very much like the Tormek bowl gouge tool, see:

http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/To...-P354C101.aspx

Damn, that is expensive. One came with my used Tormek. Tormek sells the rail and mount so you can use their jigs on your dry grinder.

Compared to flying, boating, golfing, car or motorcycle racing, etc., turning is quite cheap. After a while you can sell some of your turnings so you can buy more turning stuff. I'm selling bowls in the $75 - $100 range so I get a little payback.

Turning for me is quite soothing as I am completely absorbed in what I am doing. I will sometimes stick a piece of interesting timber on the lathe and stagger out of the shed 5 hours later grinning, without having eaten, drunk, or peed.

Thanks for the link Paul, that jig will go straight on my Scheppach. I have the Tormek Diamond Wheel dressing tool, & that works a treat.

Can I ask, what wheel do you have?

I watched a You Tube on it, it looks great.

I got an Email from Jim Carroll last night saying my chisels would be in the post today, so I should have them soon. I am as excited a a dozen Big Kevs at the moment.

Although I am not yet a wood turner, I agree with you about the calming qualities of working with wood. I have been a self taught wood worker now for about 14 years, and I find it helps keep me on the straight & narrow. I, like many others, suffer from the Dreaded "D", but working with wood really helps calm the farm. I just finished this piece for my Daughter this week.

Ems Desk 22.jpg

The Drawers are made but I haven't quite finished painting them yet.

Steve

Originally Posted by Paul39

.......Turning for me is quite soothing as I am completely absorbed in what I am doing. I will sometimes stick a piece of interesting timber on the lathe and stagger out of the shed 5 hours later grinning, without having eaten, drunk, or peed.

Ok you win......I will at least go to the rest room.

Originally Posted by Ticky

Thanks for the link Paul, that jig will go straight on my Scheppach. I have the Tormek Diamond Wheel dressing tool, & that works a treat.

Can I ask, what wheel do you have?

Although I am not yet a wood turner, I agree with you about the calming qualities of working with wood. I have been a self taught wood worker now for about 14 years, and I find it helps keep me on the straight & narrow. I, like many others, suffer from the Dreaded "D", but working with wood really helps calm the farm. I just finished this piece for my Daughter this week.

The Drawers are made but I haven't quite finished painting them yet.

Steve

I have on the Tormek the normal one that comes on it. The Tormek is a wonderful system for plane irons, bench chisels, etc., the super sharp edge is wiped right off a lathe tool with an abrasive piece of timber turning at 800 rpm or higher.

If you are referring to Depression I have found eating a simple balanced meal at regular intervals (for me 8ish, noonish, and 6ish) and taking a vitamin B supplement every day keeps the dragons away.

The table is absolutely beautiful. I admire people who have the patience and skill to do things like those legs. I do not have it in me to do such.

I am a retired commercial photographer who built, wired, plumbed, and finished studios and darkrooms for myself over 40 years. I then did home repair and maintenance for 10 more and am still working on my 1910 house heated by solar and wood.

As a boilermaker you should have no trouble making a lot of your own lathe tools. You should be able to order flat High Speed Steel of the desired size and then grind to suit.

Below are some of mine, The top one in the first photo is a scraper made from a High Speed Steel planer blade 1/2 in X 2 1/2 X 12 inches. I got 4 for $15 at auction. The two Bedan type tools; smaller from mystery steel from scrap pile 3/8 in square, bigger was a bench chisel made from a 5/8 in square file. The screw drivers are for making spigots and recesses on bowl bottoms. The lawn mower blade is too flexible so is relegated to ripping off dirt and rocks from roots and stumps.

These were early tools, and even though I have much more expensive name brand stuff, I still go to the Bedans for some things. The big heavy slab of a scraper is the best I have, including a couple Henry Taylors. The HTs are smaller and lighter. One day I may even weld a tang on it and put on a handle.

I mostly do bigger stuff. I did not buy a 20 inch swing lathe to make pens. Bigger bowls also sell for more money, even though they don't take that much more time.

Ticky you have just about put yourself in the best position possible to start to learn woodturning. The one thing nobody else has mentioned yet, is in my opinion, the best thing you can do. Search out and join your nearest woodturning guild/club/group. There is nothing like one on one hands on learning, and I can assure you, you will get plenty of that from an organised group of woodturners. I advocate a woodturning group, NOT a men's shed arrangement, if what you want do is to learn to turn wood. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of our hobby as I have over the past 26 years. Doug.

Originally Posted by Paul39

I have on the Tormek the normal one that comes on it. The Tormek is a wonderful system for plane irons, bench chisels, etc., the super sharp edge is wiped right off a lathe tool with an abrasive piece of timber turning at 800 rpm or higher.


Paul, just to be clear... Are you saying A bench grinder is better for sharpening turning chisels than your Tormek?

If so, what wheels would you suggest?



The table is absolutely beautiful. I admire people who have the patience and skill to do things like those legs. I do not have it in me to do such.

I would love to be able to make legs like those, but I can't and I bought the legs. So taking that away, the only thing I can brag about is the joinery. The rails are all joined to the legs using sliding Dovetails that I made on my home made Router Table

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f187/attempt-french-provincial-style-desk-177305


https://www.woodworkforums.com/f20/router-table-upgrade-167495

I am a retired commercial photographer who built, wired, plumbed, and finished studios and darkrooms for myself over 40 years. I then did home repair and maintenance for 10 more and am still working on my 1910 house heated by solar and wood.

As a boilermaker you should have no trouble making a lot of your own lathe tools. You should be able to order flat High Speed Steel of the desired size and then grind to suit.ols ,

I can probably make a few turning tool but at the moment, I wouldn't know what I need. Does it sort of just come to you after a while, like... If I had a tool shaped a bit like THIS, then I could get right in there?

I'm looking forward to having a bit of a go, & I think I would like to learn how to turn Bowls. My sister has a HUGE Burl up at her place, its about 4 feet round I recon. Might have to take the chainsaw up & carve a lump off.

Below are some of mine, The top one in the first photo is a scraper made from a High Speed Steel planer blade 1/2 in X 2 1/2 X 12 inches. I got 4 for $15 at auction. The two Bedan type tools; smaller from mystery steel from scrap pile 3/8 in square, bigger was a bench chisel made from a 5/8 in square file. The screw drivers are for making spigots and recesses on bowl bottoms. The lawn mower blade is too flexible so is relegated to ripping off dirt and rocks from roots and stumps.

These were early tools, and even though I have much more expensive name brand stuff, I still go to the Bedans for some things. The big heavy slab of a scraper is the best I have, including a couple Henry Taylors. The HTs are smaller and lighter. One day I may even weld a tang on it and put on a handle.

I mostly do bigger stuff. I did not buy a 20 inch swing lathe to make pens. Bigger bowls also sell for more money, even though they don't take that much more time.

Steve

Originally Posted by dougturner

Ticky you have just about put yourself in the best position possible to start to learn woodturning. The one thing nobody else has mentioned yet, is in my opinion, the best thing you can do. Search out and join your nearest woodturning guild/club/group. There is nothing like one on one hands on learning, and I can assure you, you will get plenty of that from an organised group of woodturners. I advocate a woodturning group, NOT a men's shed arrangement, if what you want do is to learn to turn wood. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of our hobby as I have over the past 26 years. Doug.

G'day Doug,

I am looking into a club at the moment, but I'm having trouble finding one that works for me. Most of them seem to meet on a Saturday but I am really looking for a mid weeker. I'll keep looking & if I can't find one, I'll have to join a Saturday club.

Ticky,

I have an 8 inch 1725 rpm dry grinder with 120 grit aluminum oxide wheels at the end of my lathe. It has the Wolverine jig: http://www.oneway.ca/sharpening/grind_jig.htm

For sharpening bowl gouges I have the vari-grind: http://www.oneway.ca/sharpening/vari-grind.htm

Which can be adjusted for the amount of swept back grind.

The grinder and jigs came with a used lathe along with a Oneway chuck. I got a good deal.

Much later a woodworking supply was closing out their school and sold off all their shop stuff. I had some surplus cash and in a weak moment bought a used Tormek with a slew of accessories, some still in unopened boxes. As it was cold out at the time I did not put it in the shed which gets below freezing.

I set it up in the kitchen and sharpened a bowl gouge and promptly cut myself. I had an abused Henry Taylor skew and put an edge on it that I could shave with. I sharpened knives, plane iron, bench chisels and some other gouges. It is a wonderful machine and puts a razor sharp edge on things. It is still in the kitchen.

If you have a freshly sharpened plane and plane a 34 inch board with say 10 strokes, you have traveled 340 inches in about a minute.

You have a freshly sharpened skew and are making a rolling pin of 3 inch diameter. Circumference is 9.43 inches. I start 3 inch stuff at 1400 rpm, so in one minute the skew has traveled 13,202 inches. That razor edge is gone in less than a minute.

This is why I say the wonderful edge made by a Tormek is wasted on lathe tools, except when you are doing the final tissue paper thin finishing cuts. With hard maple, walnut, or cherry, nice solid free machining timbers, fresh off the dry grinder is fine, give the piece a hit with 220 grit sand paper and finish.

With burls, and rotten spalted bug eaten punky timber, after getting to around a half inch from finished surface with the frequently sharpened tool from the dry grinder, then use the small swept back Tormek sharpened and honed bowl gouge and carefully slice off tissue paper thin cuts.

As I mention before, there are long passionate discussions about sharpening on this site. Search.

Your starter set provides all the tools you need.

Bob Stocksdale used only a 1/2 inch bowl gouge and a scraper, see:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...95.KvuJGAk_ogY

Rude Osolnik's lathe: http://rudeosolnik.com/sites/default.../studio_01.jpg

Rude Osolnik's bowls: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...73.xhdKB7DpqK8

Richard Raffan has a good book on bowl making. Also videos but I don't have a TV. Some years ago I read he had made 30,000 bowls.

There is a tendency in lots of hobbies and professions to think that "if I only had the better; lathe, tool, golf club, camera, I could do wonderful work". Beyond a certain minimum level, it's not the tool.

I hope you will find a place to get some hands on instruction. Two to four hours will get you started. Then it is practice, practice, practice.

I started down the primrose path with a 7 X 12 inch Chinese metal lathe and a couple of screwdrivers and a bench chisel sharpened on a 1 inch belt grinder. I made a few bowls.

With a better lathe and high speed steel tools it took 20 - 30 hours to make a finished bowl. Now I can make a bowl start to finish, starting with dry timber, in 2 - 3 hours, same lathe, same tools, but with several hundred hours experience in front of the lathe.

Hey Paul,

That Oneway System looks pretty good, I'll have to see if I can get a look at one of those.

I think I have found a Turning club, I'll give them a ring in the next day or so & see what I can tee up.

I recon my new Chisels could arrive tomorrow with a bit of luck, so I might have a bit of a play in the next few days. Either way, I might see if I can get out in the shed tomorrow & finish painting the drawers for my daughters desk & start making the new stand for my lathe.

Thanks for all your help, I still have a huge learning curve ahead of me, but like they say, the longest journey begins with the first step. (or something like that)


Steve

Just one question as I can not recall if you mention it, do you have a faceshield?

Good question,
I think I have one here somewhere, but I'll have to get some new visors for it I recon.

Originally Posted by Ticky

Good question,
I think I have one here somewhere, but I'll have to get some new visors for it I recon.

Double check it's not a grinding/spark face shield there is different rated ones! With different impact ratings. This fairly important!
In all the years of turning I have only had 2 head body impacts from timber flying out. The last one, I was lucky I had dustmaster on still put me on the floor and dented the roof two stories high!

Originally Posted by chuck1

Double check it's not a grinding/spark face shield there is different rated ones! With different impact ratings. This fairly important!
In all the years of turning I have only had 2 head body impacts from timber flying out. The last one, I was lucky I had dustmaster on still put me on the floor and dented the roof two stories high!

I don't even have to check, it is a Grinding/Spark one. OK, it looks like I have a bit more research to do.

Thanks for the warning Chuck.

Steve

JUST RECEIVED MY NEW ROBERT SORBY'S FROM JIM CARROLL

Thanks Jim. They look beautiful. I'm too scared to use them now.

I have also found a club and I'm going along on Saturday.

Steve
Robert Sorby Chisels 2.jpg